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2013: Dr Peter Morgan

Over the past four decades, Dr. Morgan has invented and advanced low-cost practical solutions to provide access to safe sanitation and clean water that are being used by millions of people worldwide.

Dr. Peter Morgan, Zimbabwe - Stockholm Water Prize 2013

“As a result of Dr. Morgan’s pioneering work to develop practical water and sanitation technologies for those most in need, countless communities now enjoy safer water, a cleaner environment and quality of life.”

More than 780 million people live without access to safe water and 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Diseases caused by unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene kill more than 5,000 people each day.

“Many currently existing solutions to provide clean water and sanitation are unaffordable, impractical and out of reach for the world’s poorest people,” says the Stockholm Water Prize Committee

 

“Many currently existing solutions to provide clean water and sanitation are unaffordable, impractical and out of reach for the world's poorest people, ”

Stockholm Water Prize Committee

A world class inventor and problem solver

Dr. Morgan has invented a wide range of simple, smart and low-cost water and sanitation technologies. Several of his most prominent innovations, including the “B” type Bush Pump and the Blair Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) Latrine, have been adapted as the national standard by the government of Zimbabwe. Huge numbers of Blair VIP latrines designed for both families and schools have been built and serve millions of people in Zimbabwe alone, and many more have been built worldwide. Dr. Morgan also created the ‘Upgraded Family Well’, a concept where families can support themselves (“self supply”) which now helps half a million people improve the quality of water obtained from traditional wells.

Dr. Morgan has an unwavering commitment to creating solutions that local communities can build and sustain themselves. For each of his technologies he also developed a wide range of training and educational materials that enable local practitioners to install, maintain and improve them. The Blair VIP latrine, for example, has been restyled so that it can be upgraded in a series of steps as the need or opportunity arises. In Zimbabwe today, variants of the Blair VIP, the “B” type ‘Bush Pump’ and the promotion of upgraded wells form the backbone of the rural water and sanitation programme.

Dr. Morgan is also renowned as one of the leading creators and proponents of ecological sanitation solutions, which enable the safe reuse of human waste to enhance soil quality and crop production. His ‘eco-san’ toilets are now in use in countries across the globe, centred on converting a sanitary problem into a productive resource. Much work has been performed in the school environment.

“Great strides have been made to bring safe water and sanitation to people around the world, yet countless millions are currently still denied access. This prestigious award encourages me to carry on to play my part to improve the conservation and supply of this most precious resource – water – and provide more people with access to clean sanitation,” says Dr. Morgan

Interview with Dr. Peter Morgan

More about Peter Morgan

Dr. Morgan currently serves as Director of Aquamor, a not-for-profit company working in the rural water supply and sanitation sector in Zimbabwe. He has previously served as Chief Research Officer and acting Director of the Blair Research Laboratory and as Advisor to the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe. Throughout his career, Dr. Morgan has shared his designs and innovations freely and ensured that they can be implemented and improved by the local communities where they are used.

A prolific and highly respected scientist, Dr. Morgan is the author of over 100 published articles and previously served as President of the Zimbabwe Scientific Association, and editor of Zimbabwe Science News. He frequently acts as an advisor and consultant on rural water supply and sanitation programmes in countries throughout Africa, such as Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia. Dr. Morgan has been the recipient of multiple awards and distinctions, including the International Inventors Award, The AMCOW AfricaSan Award for Technical Innovation in Sanitation, and the Rural Water Supply Network Award for Lifetime Services to Rural Water Supply.

Born in 1943 in Wellingborough, United Kingdom, Dr. Morgan is a naturalized citizen of Zimbabwe. He holds a PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Hull and was awarded Member of the most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1991.

Peter Morgan's inventions

VIDEO

Simple Handwashing Devices
VIDEO

Mukombe tippy-tap hand washing device